


Up and down this same old strip

by isquinnabel



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Charlie Thomas/Janine Kishi (background), Chocolate Box Treat, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, High School, Road Trips, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 15:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13592676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isquinnabel/pseuds/isquinnabel
Summary: After a chance meeting with an old friend, an impulsive decision turns Mallory’s gloomy morning into a pretty great day.





	Up and down this same old strip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [baseballchica03](https://archiveofourown.org/users/baseballchica03/gifts).



> Title from I Get Around by The Beach Boys.

  


Mallory woke up early. Too early.

She stared straight upwards, at the wooden slats of the top bunk and the floral pattern of the mattress. Margo’s snores drifted over from the second set of bunks, with just enough of a gap between each grunt that Mallory kept tricking herself into thinking she was done. But another snore always came, and Mallory eventually gave up on getting back to sleep. She slipped out of bed, closed the door softly behind her, and padded downstairs. She settled in the den with a light blanket and a bowl of cereal, and let herself wallow.

The previous night hadn’t exactly been a disaster. No-one had gone out of their way to be mean. But, well… no-one had gone out of their way to be nice either.

Everything was different this summer, and Mallory had already traced the changes back to the start of the last school year. Ever since high school began, coming home had changed. Stoneybrook High was big school; the freshman class took kids from SMS and Kelsey, plus there were always some transfer students from Stoneybrook Day and Stoneybrook Academy. It wasn’t like she resented Jessi for making new friends, or anything. After all, Jessi had always had friends that Mallory didn’t know too well. Keisha, for example. Plus tons of kids she’d done classes or performances with.

So, why did this time feel different?

The sky grew lighter, and a square patch of sunlight began creeping towards the sofa. Mallory watched absently as a sparrow flitted from the McGill’s back porch to a nearby elm tree. She wondered when Jessi had noticed that she’d left the party. Or, to be more accurate, _if_ Jessi had noticed. It wasn’t like Mallory had had any reason to stay. The Stoneybrook High kids hadn’t been interested in talking to her, and Jessi was having a blast with her friends. Some raucous game of foosball had erupted in Benny Ott’s rec room, and the thought of being asked to play had made Mallory feel queasy – she hated looking like a klutz, especially in front of people she didn’t know very well. She’d just wanted to go home, and go to bed.

So, she’d done exactly that.

Once she’d finished her cereal and rinsed the bowl, she found herself at a loss. She didn’t feel like reading. She didn’t want to watch TV. She wasn’t in the mood for company, and the house would come to life any minute now, so she decided to go for a walk. She’d slept in a fairly normal-looking t-shirt and pair of shorts, so she didn’t bother changing – her shoes and jacket were by the front door, and that was all she needed. Within seconds, she was out the door and meandering aimlessly down the sidewalk.

The morning was cool, but Slate Street wasn’t exactly quiet – it felt more like the calm before the storm. A couple of early-bird kids were playing in their front yards, and she heard the exact same cartoon wafting from the open windows of multiple homes. Mostly, though, she saw adults walking brusquely to their cars, briefcases in tow. She waved shyly at the ones she knew, and they smiled or nodded back.

When she turned the corner onto Elm, she expected more of the same. She did not expect to see Claudia Kishi.

It was barely seven thirty. Unless Claudia had changed dramatically since Mallory last saw her, she wasn’t exactly the morning walk type. Mallory threw a cautious smile at her, feeling distinctly awkward. Claudia was too far away to actually talk to, but she was close enough that Mallory felt rude not acknowledging her in some way. Claudia waved back, quickening her pace. She was almost dressed conservatively – denim cutoffs and a white t-shirt. But she wore two different flip-flops: one with pink and gold stripes, the other purple and blue. Mallory had always enjoyed Claudia’s penchant for mismatching. She’d tried it herself a couple of times, usually with earrings, but she never felt like she pulled it off. It just looked like an accident.

“Hi Mal,” said Claudia, once they got closer. “Home for the summer?”  
“Yep. Having a good vacation?”  
Claudia shrugged. “I guess. It beats being in school.”

They stood in silence for a few moments. Mallory was suddenly very aware that she was technically in her pyjamas, and she wracked her brain for something else to say.

“My brothers are starting at SHS in the fall,” she offered.  
“Oh my lord. That makes me feel so old!”  
Mallory grinned. “Yeah. Claire’s the only one left at SES.”  
“Does she mind?”  
“I don’t think so. I think she’s looking forward to it, actually.”  
“Aw, that’s good. Are you guys heading off to Sea City this year?”

Mallory’s stomach dropped.

“No,” she said slowly. “Not this year.” She was trying really hard to be mature about this. After all, Mom and Dad were just as disappointed as everyone else. But it wasn’t easy.  
“Why not?”  
“It’s complicated. Dad’s having a hard time at work. I don’t know the details, but he can’t take any time off this summer.”  
Claudia wrinkled her nose. “That sucks.”  
“Yeah,” said Mallory, sounding glum.

Another lag in the conversation. Mallory hated uncomfortable silences, but Claudia didn’t seem uncomfortable at all. In fact, she seemed lost in thought.

“Are you doing anything today?” she asked suddenly.  
“Uh…” Mallory had absolutely no plans. “I don’t think so.”  
“Want to go to Sea City?”  
Mallory blinked. “Do I want to go where?”  
“Sea City!”  
“I… how?”  
“In my car. It’s still early! It’s not that far, if we leave in half an hour we’ll be there before lunchtime.”  
“Well…” Mallory still felt kind of stunned, and before she knew what was happening, she heard herself say, “…okay.”  
Claudia’s eyes lit up.  
“Great! I’ll meet you at your house in half an hour!”

Before Mallory knew what was happening, Claudia was jogging towards Bradford Court. Mallory, a little startled, turned back towards home.

Well. At least she had something to do today.

  


\---

  


Mallory waited on the front porch, beach bag at her feet, nerves gnawing at her stomach. What was she thinking, saying yes to this? It was almost a three hour drive to Sea City. She didn’t hang out with Claudia much anymore; what if they didn’t have anything to talk about? Getting there and back again would be excruciating.

Still, she really did want to go to Sea City. Mallory wasn’t the sort of person who did impulsive things like this, but she’d always wished she could be. And besides, she’d already said yes. She couldn’t exactly back out now. She was a terrible liar, Claudia would know the real reason was that she’d chickened out. For better or worse, she was doing this. She just hoped it would turn out okay.

When Claudia arrived, she rolled up the Pikes’ driveway in a faded green VW beetle.  
“Hey,” greeted Claudia. “Ready to go?”  
“Ready.” Mallory slid into the car, glancing at the backseat. It seemed like half of Claudia’s wardrobe was back there. “You don’t pack light, do you?”  
“Oh, those aren’t for today. They were already there. I don’t know, stuff just seems to end up in here. I cleared off the passenger seat for you, though.”  
“Thanks.”

The more Mallory tried not to sound stilted, the worse her conversation became. She reached into her bag and pulled out a dog-eared map.

“The only map I could find is about five years old,” she said. “It’s definitely out of date. I think we had to use a different exit last year? The roads aren’t the same.”

Claudia waved her hand.  
“We’ll be fine. It’s not a real adventure if the map is totally accurate.”

Claudia reversed easily out of the driveway. She’d changed her outfit, Mallory noticed. She was wearing the same denim cutoffs from before, but paired with a black crochet blouse over a purple bikini top. Green heart-rimmed sunglasses sat on top of her head, and her long hair tumbled loose over her shoulders. She was ready for the beach.

Mallory felt a pang that sat somewhere between admiration and jealousy. It wasn’t just Claudia’s fashion sense. It was her confidence. The fact that she had acted on a whim like this. Even the way she drove, shifting gears without seeming to think about it, humming along with the radio. 

Mallory liked Claudia a lot. She always had. But, of course, this had turned out to be the one thing in Stoneybrook that stayed the same. She still felt like a little kid around Claudia Kishi.

There were more people around now, and Mallory watched idly as they wove through the neighborhood. Myriah Perkins was taking Chewy for a walk; some kids she didn’t know rolled past on skateboards; Jessi’s dad, laughing, was herding Squirt into the Ramsay’s station wagon. As they drove past, Mallory turned in her seat to get a better look at Jessi’s window. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but whatever it was, she didn’t find it. Claudia turned the corner and Jessi’s house was gone.

Before long, they were out of Stoneybrook and headed for the highway. Mallory, suddenly very aware that she hadn’t spoken in awhile, began to play with the ends of her hair.

“I like your car,” she blurted out.  
“Thanks,” said Claudia. “Her name’s Betsy.”  
“Oh. That’s really cute.”  
“Thanks.”

Mallory briefly pictured herself behind the wheel of a VW beetle, yellow paint just faded enough that it matched her confident, nonchalant attitude. Her long hair was all curls, no frizz, and wafted attractively on the breeze.

“Did you buy it yourself?”  
“Sure did. It took forever to save all that money. I’ve been working at Polly’s, and I still baby-sit when I have the time. But you have no idea how hard it is to save money when you have an employee discount at Polly’s.”  
Mallory giggled. “Really?”  
“Really. But my candy stash has never been better, so that’s a plus. Oh, hey, that reminds me – there’s emergency supplies in the glove compartment.”  
Mallory opened the glove compartment, and a half-empty bag of Tootsie Rolls fell to the floor. Claudia frowned. “Is that it?”  
“Um… there’s a couple of lollipops – those big rainbow ones. And a bag of gumdrops.”  
“That’ll do for now,” said Claudia, eyes flicking downward to the dashboard. “We’ll need gas in about an hour, we can stock up on candy at the same time.”

The sky was clear blue, with some barely visible wisps of cloud. Mallory slipped off her flip flops and settled back, her feet up on the seat and her knees resting against the window. Claudia’s easygoing chatter was ebbing away at her apprehension, and when they reached the highway she felt her first flicker of excitement. Claudia rolled down her window and Mallory followed suit; they sailed down the on ramp with the radio blaring and the wind whipping at their hair.

“Alright!” whooped Claudia. “Sea City here we come!”

  


\---

  


The usual scenery flew past. Claudia delegated the position of Road Trip DJ to Mallory, which basically amounted to finding a new radio station if either of them felt like a change. Mallory had to admit, this was an improvement on the regular drive to Sea City. So many fights had broken out over radio stations that music had long since been banned.

“How’s Janine going?” asked Mallory. “Has she finished college yet?”  
“One more year.”  
“Does she like California?”  
“Yeah, she does. Way more than I ever thought she would.” Claudia paused. “She has a boyfriend now.”  
“Yeah? Have you met him?”  
“Well…” Claudia paused again. “Guess who it is.”  
Mallory’s eyes widened. “Someone famous?”  
“No! No, nothing like that.” Claudia took a couple of gumdrops and tossed them in her mouth. “It’s someone we know.”  
“Someone we know?” repeated Mallory, bewildered. She couldn’t think of anyone she knew in California, except for Dawn. And she barely even remembered the names of Dawn’s California friends.  
“Okay, here’s a hint. Who else do we know who went to a west coast college?”  
“I don’t know,” shrugged Mallory. “Charlie Thomas?”  
Claudia nodded. “Charlie Thomas.”  
It took a few seconds for it to sink in. “Wait… Charlie Thomas?”  
“Charlie Thomas,” confirmed Claudia.  
“Oh wow. That’s wild! Charlie _Thomas_?”  
“Okay, I think we’ve said his name enough times.”  
“Sorry. It’s just… wow. Can you imagine moving to the other side of the country and falling for someone from your hometown? It’s like something out of a movie.”  
“I guess,” said Claudia. 

The car fell silent. Mallory shifted uneasily in her seat, not sure if she should have been that enthusiastic.

“You’re not so excited?”  
“Well…” Claudia hesitated, then sighed. “It’s not that she’s dating Charlie. That’s fine. It’s pretty cute, actually. She really likes him – they go hiking together, can you believe it?”  
“No!” Mallory shook her head. “I can’t picture that at all.”  
“Well, she’s still the same old Janine, but she gets out more than she used to. She really likes rocks, and all that stuff.”  
“Is she majoring in geology?”  
“Physics, but I think she does geology for fun.” Claudia shrugged. “She says the most interesting stuff is hidden away. So they go hiking, like, all the time.”  
“That’s adorable,” grinned Mallory. “And kind of romantic!”  
Claudia laughed.  
“That’s what Mary Anne said. Those exact words. Adorable and romantic.”  
Mallory reached for a Tootsie Roll.  
“So, what’s the problem?”  
“Well…” Claudia paused. “Okay, so we all found out about this, like, a week ago.”  
“How long have they been together?”  
“About six months, I think, but that’s not the problem. The problem is, I hung out with Kristy on Wednesday.”  
“Uh huh,” said Mallory. “I haven’t seen Kristy in awhile.”  
“Well, in case you’re wondering, she hasn’t changed one little bit.”  
“I’m going to guess that means she still has… kind of a big mouth?”  
“If by that you mean she’s still completely obnoxious, yes. She is.”  
Mallory hesitated.  
“What happened?”  
“Well… she was kind of quiet all day. Not thoughtful-quiet, but the kind of quiet where something’s stewing. You know? So Mary Anne and I just kind of let her be. But eventually one of us – me or Mary Anne, I don’t remember – mentioned Charlie and Janine. And Kristy got all huffy and eye-rolly, and eventually she was like, ‘I just don’t get it. What’s Charlie dating _her_ for? He could date anyone he wants!’ ”  
“Oh, jeez.” Mallory winced. “Do you think she meant it like that?”  
“I don’t care,” said Claudia darkly. “I’m sick of making allowances for Kristy’s big mouth.”  
“That’s fair enough.” Mallory remembered tons of times Kristy had blurted out the wrong thing at the wrong time. For the most part, it was harmless. But sometimes she really hurt people. This looked like one of those times.  
“What does Mary Anne think?”  
“She gets why I’m mad, but she doesn’t think Kristy meant it like that. She thinks Kristy’s actually upset that Charlie kept it from them for so long, but come on. Charlie’s twenty-one! He lives on the other side of the country, he doesn’t owe her a play-by-play of his dating life. It makes sense that they kept it quiet! Things could have got complicated really quickly.”  
“Six months is kind of a long time,” mused Mallory. “I mean, they probably had good reasons for keeping it to themselves. But if she’s upset, I can kind of get it.”  
“I guess,” sighed Claudia. “But I’m still not ready to talk to her, and if she tries to apologize now I’ll just get angry. I had a bad feeling Mary Anne was going to bring her to my house today. I can’t sleep late when I’m mad, so I went for a walk and… well, here we are!”  
“Here we are!” echoed Mallory. “Definitely not in Stoneybrook.”  
Claudia laughed, and pushed her sunglasses up to the bridge of her nose.  
“Thank god for that.”

  


\---

  


“Twinkies?”  
Mallory shook her head. “I can’t eat Twinkies anymore. Margo ate about a million before we drove to Washington Mall last Christmas.”  
Claudia shuddered. “Enough said. Twizzlers?”  
“Are you going alphabetically for a reason?”  
“Oh my lord." Claudia laughed. “I spend too much time around Mom.”  
“Let’s get Twizzlers. Rainbow ones.” Mallory gazed thoughtfully at the wide selection of candy. “You know, I think I’d like it if all the candy was in alphabetical order. It sounds kind of satisfying.”  
“Weirdo. Oh! Unless it was a candy library! Now _that_ I can get on board with. Or…” the smile on Claudia’s face suddenly faded. “No. Never mind. Gross.”  
“Yeah, I don’t want candy someone else has already eaten.”  
“Ew! Mal!”  
“Sorry,” Mallory laughed. “This is ridiculous. None of my brothers are here and we’re still plagued with vomit discussion. Two times in one minute!”  
“Next person to bring it up pays for ice cream in Sea City.”

Mallory bit back a laugh. Even though there was no-one around to say it, every instinct in her body braced for a gleeful repetition of “next one to _bring it up_!” She might have lived away from home for years, but she was still a Pike.

“Deal.”

  


\---

  


When they finally reached Sea City, the place was bursting with life. Every second in Sea City was precious, so Mallory spent the last twenty minutes of the car trip slathering every inch of skin with sunblock. She didn’t want to waste any time once they arrived.

Neither did Claudia, who didn’t bother with sunblock at all.  
“Beach!” she cried, flinging open the door. “Finally!”

They weren’t exactly at the beach yet. Sea City was full of tourists, and Claudia had had to park several streets back. But even here, the air was heavy with the scent of the ocean. Mallory could almost taste the salt, and it brought back years worth of accumulated vacation thrill. Sea City. She was really here.

It wasn’t long before they were actually at the beach, sand between their toes, the Atlantic Ocean stretched out before them. Claudia and Mallory flung themselves into the ocean like little kids, bobbing up and down in the waves, and laughing at the silliest jokes.

“I’m heading back,” Claudia shouted over the roar of a wave. “I want to sunbathe for awhile. You staying in?”  
Mallory nodded. “A little longer!”

Mallory usually didn’t stay in the ocean this long. But, usually she was here for two full weeks. She held her breath and ducked underwater as a wave rolled over her. Everything except the swirl of the water, the roughness of the sand, and the lightness of her body completely disappeared. This was paradise. The best place on Earth. 

When she stood back up, she forgot to tilt her head back. She emerged from the water like a swamp monster, hair draped heavily over her face. She laughed, not caring how stupid she looked, and slipped back underwater.

  


\---

  


Mallory emerged from the water flushed and exhausted, squeezing half the ocean out of her hair. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, so it took a minute to find Claudia. She was stretched out on her beach towel, reading a magazine and snacking on the remaining Twizzlers.

“Hey,” she greeted. “Had a good swim?”  
The best!” enthused Mallory. “Hand me my glasses? I can’t see anything. You are Claudia Kishi right?”  
Claudia laughed, rooting around in Mallory’s beach bag. “Imagine if you really went up to the wrong person.”  
“Don’t laugh,” warned Mallory. “I’ve done that before. So has Vanessa.”  
Claudia handed over the glasses with a grin.  
“Wanna sunbathe with me?”  
“Not on your life!” said Mallory. She was already half-inclined to reapply her sunblock. It claimed to be waterproof, but she wasn’t sure she believed it.  
Claudia laughed. “Just kidding, your skin’s even worse than Mary Anne’s. Let’s go have lunch. And then the boardwalk! I’ll win you a bear or something.”

  


\---

  


“This is pathetic!” wailed Mallory.  
Claudia laughed. “You still won me a prize though!”  
Mallory rolled her eyes as the attendant handed her a plastic slide whistle. “This doesn’t count. The penguin is a real prize.”

Claudia had had her turn first, and while she hadn’t exactly won big, she’d managed to win Mallory a little stuffed penguin in a straw hat. Claudia tilted her head, carefully examining the penguin.

“I don’t know. His eyes are set weird. He looks possessed. Hey, maybe that’s why you got no points!” Claudia waddled the penguin ominously through the air. “There’s something _inside_ this little guy. Something other than stuffing.”  
“I don’t need supernatural intervention to be bad at ring toss,” said Mallory, digging through her wallet for another quarter. “I’m going again.”  
“Nowhere to go but up,” agreed Claudia. “Or sideways.”

This time, Mallory managed to land one single ring on a low-scoring bottle. The attendant gave a cheerful “congratulations!” and handed her a sheet of temporary tattoos.  
“Ooh!” said Claudia. “These are cute!”  
The attendant winked. “Try your luck again, young lady?”  
“No thanks,” said Mallory. “I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”

The Sea City boardwalk was teeming with people. Mallory and Claudia dodged families, couples, and large groups of teens as they wove towards another Sea City staple – the ferris wheel. Claudia lagged behind as they walked, poring over the sheet of tattoos.

“Hey Mal, do you have scissors?”  
“What, in my beach bag?”  
Claudia shrugged. “You never know. Do you?”  
“No. Why?”  
“I want to wear this one,” she said, pointing at a bright yellow sun. “But it’s right in the middle of the sheet.”  
“Well…” Mallory glanced over at the ferris wheel. “It looks like kind of a long wait. How about I save our place in the line, and you go buy some scissors?”  
“Great idea! See you soon.”  
“See you soon,” agreed Mallory.

The ferris wheel cast a patchwork shadow on the waiting crowd, and Mallory was careful to stay in the shade. Several families joined the queue behind her, and she couldn’t help grinning at the sound of little kids enthusiastically describing Burger Garden to their grandparents. Her own family still considered that place to be practically a religious experience. They were all getting older, and outgrowing some of their family traditions, but somehow the visits to Gurber Garden were holding strong – mushroom tables and all.

The line inched forward, the ferris wheel slowly filled up, and Mallory’s eyes landed on a car with three kids. Two middle-schoolers, she guessed, plus a younger brother. So many Sea City stories had become Pike family lore, but there was a never-ending stream of little things, things she never thought about, that would suddenly leap into her brain. She'd almost forgotten about the time she rode the ferris wheel with Jessi and Nicky. It was the summer after seventh grade, and Nicky was dying to spit from the top of the wheel. Jessi managed to bribe him not to, with a weird wooden snake she’d won at the dime toss.

She wondered if Jessi had come looking for her today, and a knot settled uncomfortably in Mallory’s stomach. It wasn’t like Jessi hadn’t tried to include her at the party last night. She’d introduced Mallory to people. Conversation just didn’t take, and that wasn’t really Jessi’s fault.

Claudia eventually returned, apologizing to people as she inched towards Mallory.  
“Sorry, that took forever,” she said. “Sea City hates scissors.”  
“You didn’t find any?”  
“Uh…” Claudia looked sheepish. “No. But I found one of those travel manicure sets in my beach bag. I forgot I had it! I can just use nail scissors, that’ll work fine.”  
Mallory burst out laughing. “You actually had scissors with you? After all that?”  
“Yeah, who knew! I guess I’ll finally earn that Boy Scout badge.”

While they waited, Claudia cut carefully cut around the sun tattoo. Mallory fished the penguin out of her bag and looked closely at its eyes.  
“Poor little penguin. It’s not his fault his eyes are crooked.”  
“What are you gonna name him?”  
“I don’t know. He looks like such a doofus, I can’t decide whether it’s funnier to go with something wacky or something dignified.”  
“Dignity is overrated. Go with wacky.”  
“Well, I definitely want it to begin with a P.” Mallory paused, then laughed. “The first word I thought of was Pringles. I think I’m getting hungry again.”  
“Pringles the penguin,” mused Claudia. “I like it. It suits him.”  
Mallory tucked him carefully into her bag.  
“I think I’m going to give him to Jessi.”  
“Oh, just _give_ my hard-won gift away, Mal. See if I care.” Claudia tossed her hair dramatically. “How’s Jessi these days? I hardly ever see her.”  
“Pretty good. She really likes Stoneybrook High. She was super busy during the school year.”  
“Yeah, there's a lot going on at SHS,” said Claudia. “Way more than middle school. Is she still at that intense ballet school?”  
“She is, but I think it’s been hard this year. High school is so much busier, there’s so many things she wants to do. Plus more homework.”  
Claudia shuddered.  
“Don’t remind me. I only have one year left of homework, and then it’s behind me forever.”  
“You’re not going to college?”  
“I don’t know.” Claudia sighed. “Mom and Dad want me to. We’ll see, I guess.”

Mallory didn’t push the topic any further. Before long, they were at the front of the line and clambering into a bright red car. They rose gently into the air, high above the beach, at a safe enough distance that Mallory felt comfortable joining in when Claudia pointed out cute lifeguards.

  


\---

  


Going all the way to Sea City and skipping Ice Cream Palace was unthinkable. If Mallory’s siblings heard about that, they’d have her drawn and quartered.

Although, Mallory realized, they’d probably have her drawn and quartered anyway.

“Do me a favor?”  
“What?”  
Claudia was staring at the array of ice cream flavors, a look of intense concentration on her face. Her hair was piled on top of her head, revealing the cute sun tattoo between her shoulder blades, just below the halter tie of her bikini top.  
“Don’t ever tell my family about today. My brothers and sisters would kill me.”  
“That would be a bad way to go,” said Claudia. “No problem.”  
“Actually… Mom and Dad wouldn’t be too thrilled either.”  
Claudia glanced up, surprised.  
“You didn’t tell them?”  
“Well, I told them I was spending the day with you. But I didn’t get specific.”  
“But your parents are so chilled out! They wouldn’t mind, right?”  
“They’re still parents,” replied Mallory. “ They let little things go, but I don’t think this would be a little thing.”

Claudia finally ordered her ice cream – a double scoop cone with cookies ‘n creme and chocolate fudge.

“I didn’t tell mine either,” she admitted. “Let’s just keep the circle small. Best friends only. You can tell Jessi, and I can tell Stacey. But they have to keep it to themselves. Deal?”  
“Deal,” agreed Mallory.

They wandered down the main drag, past all the same familiar shopfronts. Even places Mallory rarely visited, like Grabs for Crabs, felt like old friends. Still, time was marching on. As much as Mallory wished she could stay – an afternoon simply wasn’t enough – they had to hit the road. She ate her last bite of ice cream, threw the cup in a nearby trashcan, and turned to Claudia.

“We parked on Nassa Street, that’s back the other way.”  
Mallory turned and began to walk, secretly glad they’d gone too far in the wrong direction. One last walk through Sea City, with a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, was exactly what she needed.

“Oh my lord. Mallory.”  
“What? What’s wrong?”

Claudia stood frozen on the sidewalk, ice cream dripping slowly down her hand.

“We have to drive all the way home!” she wailed.


End file.
